Improvement in feather-renovators



y A. BOND.

Feather Renovater Patented Sept. 15.1868.

N. PFIERS. PHD m-umccmu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS BOND, OF OHIOOPEE, MASSAOHUSETTS,ASS1GNOR TO HIMSELF AND A. D.MOORE, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT I N FEATHER-RE N'OVATO RS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 82,200, dated September15, 1868.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AMOS BOND, of Chicopee,in the county of Hampden and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and Improved Machine for Dressing and Renovating Feathersand I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings,making a part of this specification, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of said machine.Fig. 2 is a vertical axial section through Fig. 1, only a small portionof the supportingframe being shown, and the inlet-valve being turned sothat steam is admitted to the drying-chamber. Fig. 3 is a portion of thesame sectional view, of double size, to show the inlet-valve andsteam-ports more plainly. Fig. at is a transverse section through thedrying-cylinder, the plane of section being indicated by the line as min Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a like sectional view, theinlet-valve, however,being set so that the steam passes into the steam-chest, and thencepasses into the feathers. Fig. 6 is a view of one of the two similarpartition-plates. Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view through thedrying-cylinder, the plane of section being indicated by the line 3 y inFig. 2; and Fig. Sis a transverse section through the drying-cylinder,the plane of vertical section being indicated by the line 2 z in Fig. 2.

My invention consists of a revolving featherholder, of wood, cylindricalor polygonal in cross-section, inclosing the steaming apparatus, andsupported in a frame the cross-piece of which is rigged with a set ofpulleys and cords, for raising the bed or sack of feathers above theholder, in a convenientposition for emptying its contents directly intothe machine. v p

The steaming apparatus consists of a dryingcylinderfof sheet metal,extending lengthwise through the feathenholder, and inclosing asteam-chest, from which the steam passes into the holder by pipes themouths of which are capped with jets, shaped like the sawed tips of gasburners.

A rotating tubular valve and its seat are applied to the drying-cylinderand steam-chest in such a way that, when the valve is turned in oneposition, steam passes into the steamchest, and thence out among thefeathers, which is the first step in the process of renovating. Byturning the valve to another position, the steam is cut oif from thesteamchest and feathers and admitted to the drying-cylinder, and, by theheat radiated from the cylinder, the steamed feathers are soon dried. Assoon as dried, the valve is turned to a third position, so as to shutoff the steam entirely from the machine, when the feathers can beremoved from the holder.

An escape-valve is applied at the opposite end of the'drying-cylinder,so as to enable me to use steam under pressure for drying the feathers;and a blow-0E pipe is arranged in connection with this escape-valve, sothat the condensed water in the drying-cylinder may be blown out by thepressure of the steam at every revolution of the feather-holder, ifnecessary. Apipe is also extended from the end of the hollowescape-valve nearly to the bottom of a reservoir, which receives thedrip, and enables me to use a head of water to hold back the steam, ifdesirable.

A small portable steam-boiler, constructed strongly to allow the use ofsteam under considerable pressure, is used in connection with themachine, a steam-pipe being led from the boiler to the tubularinlet-valve; and my arrangement of an escape-valve enables me to usesteam under pressure, and thus perform the work much more rapidly andefficiently than if the steam were allowed to pass ofi withoutobstruction at the opposite end of the feather-holder, as is usual inother machines for this purpose.

The inside of the feather-holder is arranged so that one or moreremovable partitions can be placed in it, so as to divide up the insidespace, and allow the operator to renovate different lots of feathers atthe same time without mixing them.

The construction of my invention is as follows: The supportin -frameconsists of the base a, standards I) b, and cross-bar e, in which arethe pulleys d d, which, with the cords c 0, enable a single operator toremove the feathers into the wooden feather'holder directly from thetick or sack, the lower seam of which is opened a short distance, thusdispensing with an extra hand heretofore required for the purpose.

The holder A is a hollow polygonal prism, an" octagonal form being aconvenient one, and easily constructed. To the heads of this holder theflanged hollow journals B B are bolted, and turn in bearings in thestandards 12 b.

'When the steaming and drying are going on, the holder is frequentlyrotated, so as to keep the feathers in motion.

Cleats l? P are fastened to the inside of the cylinder at one or moreconvenient points, and the partition-boards I? are shaped so as to restagainst these cleats, being secured by hooks or other fastenings, andthey thus form compartments in the holder, while openings 1) p in thepartition-boards allow the steam to circulate through all thecompartments at the same head; or the partitions may be removed and thewhole space thrown into one.

The ends of the drying-cylinder O are inserted tightly in the respectiveheads of the holder, space enough being allowed between the ends andtheflanges of the bearings B B to admit of the longitudinal expansion ofthe drying-cylinder by the heat of steam.

The cylindrical steam-chest D is inserted within the drier, andconcentric to it, being held in place by stays, and the pipes I Iradiating from it, and forming steam passages from the steam-chest tothe outside of the drier. I prefer to apply four of these pipestogether, radiating at equal distances apart, and to use two or threesetsof these pipes, so as to admit steam directly to all parts of thefeatherholder.

The pipes farthest from the inlet-valve or steam end I make slightlylarger than those which are nearer, to equalize the amount ofsteam-introduced in the different points. The outer ends of these pipesare covered with a cap, in which a slot is sawed, so as to produce afan-like jet of steam, and also to prevent the feathers from enteringthe pipes.

From the steam-chest the tube E extends through the hollow bearing B,and is soldered to it, and also to the end of the drying-cylinder. Theinside of this tube is smoothly finished, and forms the seat of thevalve F, and opens into the steam-chest by the single port 43, Fig. '4,and into the drier by the single port 71., Figs. 2 and 3.

The rotating valve F has a steam-passage extending from its outer end,and an opening, h", therefrom, to meet the port h, into the drier, andanother opening, i to meet the port 1', into the steam-chest. It isturned by the winch F, and fitted so as to move steam-tight in the tubeor valve-seat E.

When the winch is turned into the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4,the steamway into the drier is open, while that into the steam-chest isclosed.

vIf the valve be turned ihto the position shown in Fig. 5, the steamwayinto the chest D is opened, and all steam is shut out of the drier. Ifthe valve is set midway between the two positions named, all steam isexcluded from'the machine.

The tube His fastened to the opposite end of the drier and to the hollowbearing B, and extends through the bearing into the dryingcylinder, intowhich it opens through the pipe G, which reaches nearly to the side ofthe cylinder.

A valve-tube, G, is fitted to move steamtight in the tube or seat H, andhas a port, h, which meets the end of the pipe G when properly set. Thevalve is turned by slots in the end, and, if set as shown in Fig. 7, nosteam can escape through it from the drier, but if turned so that theopening h falls over the end of the pipe G, the steam will pass throughG and out at the end of the'valve. The pressure of steam in the driercan thus be accurately regulated, and it will be seen that any condensedsteam and drip in the drier will be forced out through G when the end ofthe latter is at its lowest point.

At the exhaust end of the machine is placed the reservoir K, into whichall the escape steam and condensed water pass by the removable tube J,which is fitted tightly to the end of the escape-valve G.

Instead of closing the valve, therefore, the reservoir may be filled orpartly filled, with water, which will, of course, exert a certain backpressure upon the escaping steam.

The inlet and exhaust valves and their seats I propose to .contruct ofbrass or composition, and the drier and steam-chest of galvanized iron,or other non-corrosive sheet metal of sufficient strength to resist thehead of steam used, which head is to be as much as is possible withoutcrisping or otherwise injuring the quality of the feathers.

I am aware that wooden feather-holders of various forms, with asteam-cylinder passing through them, have been before used, and I do notclaim the same as new or of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination of the revolvingfeatherholder A, drier O, steam-chest D,tubes I, valve-seat E, two-wayvalve F, valve-seat H, blow-off pipe G, exhaust-valve G, reservoir K,and pipe J, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The removable partition P, applied 'to the revolving feather-holderA, to form compartments therein, substantially as described.

3. The slotted or sawed caps, applied to the outer ends of the tubes I,when the latter are applied to the steam-chest D and drier 0,substantially as and for the-purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of June,A. D. 1868.

. AMOS BOND.

Witnesses:

J. P. BUOKLAND, E. J. So1vnvrER. a

